The Spectre at the Feast
by heronwaylightenstern
Summary: Commander Shepard sacrificed herself, three years ago, to save the galaxy from the Reaper Threat. We flash to the present, where Dianne Sharpe's regular life is twisted upside down when she is assigned, with a familiar Spectre, to investigate rumors that Shepard is in fact...alive. Things get complicated when people show up who don't want the Commander back. *originally on wattpad
1. I

** READ ON ONLY IF YOU ARE PREPARED FOR SPOILERS OF MASS EFFECT 3 (because they will be subtly mentioned) also a forewarning that this takes place after the events of Mass Effect 3 under these pretenses: **

**1) Kaidan Alenko is the Virmire survivor **

**2) Commander Shepard chose the Destroy ending**

**3) Commander Shepard romanced Kaidan in ME1 and Garrus in ME2 and ME3 **

**4) Wrex survived Virmire **

**5) All party members survived the Suicide Mission **

**6) The Council was spared during the attack on the Citadel in ME1 **

**7) The Genophage was cured **

**8) Saved the Quarians, but not the Geth. Legion died as a result.**

* * *

_'It's what Anderson would have wanted. It's what Garrus would have wanted. It's what humanity needed, and it's what I have to do to save the galaxy.' Shepard's vision was swarming with blood, as well as fear. She bit her bottom lip as she hesitantly thought of the future. What if destruction of the Reapers and all Reaper influenced synthetics wasn't the right choice? What if synthesis, or control was? She stood atop the Crucible, gun shaking in her hand as she looked at all three options. Blue. Green. Red. Her head was pounding, and she was basically running on borrowed time. Moments remained before Shepard would lose function, and be the downfall of life itself. _

_'But this isn't real,' she thought, 'all of this isn't real. The starchild? Pfft. Likely. The Illusive Man sneaking into the Citadel? Impossible. Anderson being shot, then me recieving the wound? An illusion. This can't be real. What I'm chosing has to be some sort of...mind game. The Reapers...yes, it has to be them. I won't let them get to me.' _

_Shepard looked back at the quivering, electronic holo of the starchild. "Choose," it commanded, "Or be the death of all you love." Shepard inhaled deeply, narrowing her eyes as she limped up the ramp and to the red flashing lights, which were becoming even more blurred by the second. Tears started to brim in Shepard's eyes. Her arm was shaking even more, now. _

_Images flashed in her head of Kaidan, the man she had loved once upon a time. _

_One shot fired. _

_Anderson's image looked back at Shepard, nodding at her. Proud. He was well, not sickly. Alive, not dead. _

_Another shot fired. _

_More succeeded the latter shot, becoming sloppier and sloppier as the images became more hazy. Shepard never cried. This time, however, she did. _

_Joker looked up and back at Shepard, tilting the brim of his hat with a sly smile. The rest of her crew appeared in her head. Liara, a thin smile on her lips. Tali, waving to Shepard. Memories flooded Shepard's conscience. Curing the genophage. Saving the Quarians. That was when she realized that this was the right choice. The last ditch effort for the Indoctrination had failed. Shepard... had won. _

_The energy tube that had been fired on, now multiple times, was starting to leak gas. Little eruptions of fire came from it, scorching Shepard's arm. She flinched, hiding her face from the heat. One last shot would destroy it, thus destroying the Reapers, and all synthetics with Reaper DNA. She would feel guilty, if she lived, for killing EDI. Any surviving Geth would be killed too. The only guilt to that she felt was the ghost of Legion, whom she had shot down and killed. Who knew someone could feel guilt for a machine? But Legion was an AI unlike others. He was Shepard's friend. _

_But Shepard's aim was failing, and she felt her legs begin to crumble beneath her. She wouldn't do it. She couldn't do it. But the final image appeared. The final motivation of memory for Shepard. _

_Garrus. _

_The turian she found herself to love, after her heart had been decimated by Kaidan on Horizon. The turian who had given his heart and soul to a human, something not many would imagine. The turian Shepard loved. The turian she didn't want to leave. But she had to. If it meant that Garrus survived, as well as her friends and loved ones, she would do this. She would sacrifice herself, just as Legion had - and Mordin, if it meant that the galaxy would be safe from the Reapers. So she fired. One last shot caught the gas and the entire energy tube exploded, blowing back Shepard. The last thing she saw was the destruction of the Crucible, and the last thing she understood was the ensured safety of what she loved, at the cost of the destruction of Annie Shepard._


	2. II

Dianne bit her lower lip as she read through her datapad of a recent case. It was a regular day at C-Sec. A regular day wasn't without vagrants showing up, criminals being hauled in and a false alarm or two. Dianne was lucky, as she never had to bother with such assignments. She was a Network Cop, more invested in the E-crimes of the Citadel than the physical ones.

"Officer Sharpe.. I have witnessed a crime.. and would like you to know of it!" Dianne didn't bother looking up. She already knew who it was, judging by a familiar, heavy breathing voice.

"Not my department, Dekel." She said, reaching with a free hand for the bagel on her desk. It was snatched from her hand before she could take a bite. Dianne raised her gaze, glowering at the Volus in front of her.

"I don't care, Earth-clan! I have seen a crime, and you are C-Sec! Do something about it!" He rasped, fidgeting. Dianne's lip curled into a smile. "Aw, shucks Dekel. I thought we were buddies. You haven't called me Earth-clan in...months!" She faked a pout, making the Volus squirm even more. She took her bagel back, ripping a large bite out of it.

"The nerve!" Dekel said, turning and wobbling away, as Volus do. He angrily crashed into the knee-caps of several officers, earning short gasps and cries of surprise. Dianne watched with an amused expression on her face.

Once he was out of sight, she placed a finger to her ear and turned on her comm. "Hey, Joe? There's an angry Volus saying he's seen a crime. You got the time to see to him?" Dianne spoke, taking another bite. "Thanks, I owe you one." Dianne turned to her desk once more, turning on the datapad and reading through the case-file one last time. Her recent bust had been on an identity theft and near money theft. A human was trying to sneak around with a Hanar's identity, as well as with the hundreds of thousands of credits in the Hanar's bank. In her mind, it was an easy crack. Besides, humans don't exactly look pink, squishy and have tentacles.

Dianne added a few things to the case-file, then sent it in to her superior. Turning off the pad, Dianne took a quick glance at the frame on her desk. It was a picture of her and her closest friend, Miranda. Dianne reminisced when she had the accident, and was first found by Miranda, who claimed that they had been friends for years. The accident had sent Dianne into a short-term coma, and when she had awoken, she had no memory of anything. Not even her name. At the time, Dianne had nobody so she gleefully accepted the woman.

In fact, it was Miranda who helped Dianne remember everything: her name, her family, her home; everything.

* * *

_She stood in the middle of the empty street. Stores were closed, as it was well past midnight. Her pale hair floated daintily in the wind, blown around her face. Her cold, blue eyes were wide open, empty and staring. Her fingers clutching at invisible hands. She was wearing a thin, cotton dress that faintly displayed the scars littering her pale skin. The dress wasn't meant for a blustery night on Earth. _

_Suddenly, she looked up and at the stars. They twinkled in the sky, as if calling to her. She wanted to be with the stars. She knew there were friends out there, friends that didn't leave her on a rotating orb. One hand began to rise, fingers twitching as she grabbed for the sky. She grabbed like a small child would for a toy, hands shaking as she lusted for the stars. A garbled cry came from her destroyed throat, tears prickling the corners of her eyes. She wanted to leave so badly. She hated being on the ground. Stuck to the trees. Crawling with the other insects that roamed the planet. _

_"What are you doing?" Someone asked. She didn't know who, but she couldn't speak; couldn't ask who it was. _

_"Do you know who you are?" She moaned again, unable to speak._

_"Answer me! Do you know you are?" She started to cry, as she wanted to talk so badly. She tried, tried so hard. Turning her head over her shoulder to look at the darkened figure, she opened her mouth and tried to form the words. It was one syllable, one delicious syllable. She longed to bite down on the word, as a hungry child might with an apple. She wanted to scream: and was so frustrated at the inability to. Then, it came. She felt the vibration ripping through her throat, sending shocks of pain throughout her whole body. _

_"N-no." _

* * *

Dianne gave a melancholy smile at the frame, barely taking notice to the approaching figure from behind. "Officer Sharpe!" The person said, and Dianne merely rolled her eyes, growing annoyed, and not turning in her chair.

"Listen, Dekel, I told Joe to take care of you - so stop bothering me! You know I don't handle physical cases, so just beat it before you waste a precious ammonia saturated breath." Dianne said, turning in her chair.

Rather than the short Volus, her eyes travelled up to see her superior, the very man whom she had sent in her case-file, standing with one eyebrow up. Dianne's face bloomed a shade of red seen only on the rump of an infant. She gave a hesitant laugh at Executor Chellick, the recent successor of Executor Pallin after the Reaper War. The turian flared his mandibles - was he amused, or perturbed? Dianne's laugh melted into clearing her throat, settling her hands in her lap as she looked down. Chellick gave a lazy stance, lounging back on one foot and with arms crossed. He smirked, as best as a turian could.

"Well," he said, "you sure showed Dekel." Dianne glowered in her lap.

Chellick chuckled. "I'm only giving you a hard time Sharpe. Besides, I came here for a reason. Meet me in my office. ASAP." He said, giving her a pat on the head and then turning to leave. Dianne didn't move until he was gone. She relaxed slightly when he was out of sight, breathing heavily. _It's not that I don't like Chellick_. She told herself, biting her lower lip once again. _Not at all. He's a humorous guy...sometimes. But hey, with a turian, it's physically impossible to tell their emotions. Is it love, or hate? Happiness or unhappiness? Those damn rock faced...bird-dinosaurs._ Dianne stood up, logging out of her network on the computer. She grabbed her half-eaten bagel and ate it as she headed to Executor Chellick's office.


	3. III

Dianne slipped into Executor Chellick's office, letting the door close behind her. Chellick pressed a button and there was a beep. The door light turned red, signaling it was locked. Dianne gulped, swallowing the last bit of her bagel and taking a seat. Chellick steepled his talons, drawing his face close to them. Dianne paled, worried by the silence. Anxiety pulsed in her body, making her taste the bitter reminisce of the bagel.

Finally, Chellick broke the silence. "How capable do you consider yourself, Sharpe?"

Dianne furrowed her brows, all worry exiting. Is that all he wanted? "Quite capable, sir." She responded, warily.

"You don't sound confident to that."

"I'm merely modest, sir." Chellick chuckled at that, and Dianne gave a breath of relaxation. Chellick placed his hands down on the desk and leaned back.

"You've busted several E-crimes in your time, Sharpe. A capable officer such as yourself deserves a more...entertaining job, wouldn't you say?" Chellick stared intently at Dianne, and she felt her stomach drop. Was he firing her, or promoting her? Dianne placed her hands between her thighs and squeezed, trying to relax even more.

Looking down as she spoke, Dianne said, "It's not as if the job is boring. There's plenty of entertainment. I enjoy busting the cyber crimes...sir." Dianne quivered as she prepared for the whipping blow of her firing.

Chellick shook his head. "I think you deserve more. You're better than this. You haven't got a stain on your record and you're the best candidate I can think of for this assignment," Dianne looked up at this, her face brightening. Was she being promoted. "I have to forewarn you, this assignment will require more than busting identity thieves and extranet scams. You'll have to use weapons and bust dangerous criminals. However, I believe you can do it - Dianne."

Dianne gave a small smile, not wanting to be overexcited. Chellick brought up his omni-tool and pressed a few buttons. "I'm sending you the file. Read it here, and not anywhere else."

With omni-tools linked, Dianne immediately extracted the file. It came up bright on her tool, blinding her a bit. It was titled **FTC**.

"FTC?" Dianne asked, looking through the holo at Chellick.

"If you haven't lived under a rock, you know who Commander Shepard is, correct?"

Dianne nodded. "The holiday is in a week: parade and all." She added, and Chellick bobbed his head.

"Commander Shepard died on that day, three years ago, right? Well...there have been rumors...and evidence...that contradicts such."

Dianne gasped. Her hand started to shake. She looked up at Chellick, bewildered. "You're joking, right? The Commander can't be alive! She died when the Crucible was activated..."

Chellick stared hard at Dianne, as if this was the most serious thing he had ever spoken of. "But they never found the body. The Commander was never confirmed as dead, but only inferred as such. Evidence has popped up all over the Milky Way of sightings. Some have been classified as hoaxes, obvious ones, but the others...require a clear conscience. You're a bright kid: I'm sure you can figure these out."

Dianne looked up in surprise. "Yes sir...' She continued to flip through the file, coming across countless reports and videos all declaring Shepard alive and well. She couldn't believe it...not just the fact that a ghost was walking, but the fact that she...out of all the other officers on the Citadel...she was chosen for this. There wasn't anything special about her: she was an average woman living an average life (though some would say indifferent, as she does live on a space faring ancient mass relay in the midst of space), but aside from that all was normal. She didn't deserve such an honor...such a grace. And to do it alone...Chellick really did think highly of her. "But what does FTC stand for, sir? You never told me..." Dianne asked, continuing to look through the long files.

Suddenly, the door from behind slide open with a click. Dianne was too engrossed in the file to notice. The man approached from behind, blue armor battered from war and fights. He stood behind the chair, staring quizzically at the hunched woman in front of him.

"It stands for: Find The Commander." The raspy voice said, which was not at all Chellick's.

Dianne jumped in her seat, whirling around quickly and clutching to the arms of the chair. She studied the man quickly, soaking him in. Tall. Dark haired. Brown eyes; or were they hazel? Dianne narrowed her eyes, and subconsciously threw on a confused expression. The man smirked, then looked back at Chellick. Dianne looked back at the Executor.

"Officer Sharpe, this is General Alenko, a Spectre. You both will be handling the mission."

Dianne bit her bottom lip. "Executor, sir.." She looked back at him, and Alenko gave a petty wave. ",General Alenko can take care of himself, no doubt. Why still give the assignment to me?"

Alenko finished for Chellick, "because I'm no Shepard. Shepard tracked down Saren and the Collectors basically by herself, minus her crew's help. If she is alive, she won't be easy to track. I need someone I can trust to find Shepard."

Dianne shook her head, stepping out of her chair and backing up from the desk. "No offense General, but I don't even know you! Executor, tell me this is a joke! How am I supposed to be trustworthy if I don't even know Commander Shepard, or you General!?" Dianne's chest began to rise and fall quickly. Her hands were shaking and she was upset: especially if this was a practical joke. She hated jokes. Especially ones that people didn't give up on...like this one.

General Alenko narrowed his eyes. "I will tell you if you calm down, Officer Sharpe," he inhaled once, calming his own self down. "There's something you need to know-"

"That you're just drawing out my firing? Forgive the insubordination General, but this truly isn't funny anymore! You tell me something like Commander Shepard being alive, and that I'm supposed to help you find her, and then say that I'm someone you trust? Are you even a General? Or just a friend of the Executor's, in on the sick JOKE!?" Dianne's voice rose, and Chellick stood from his desk.

"Stand down Officer! Let the Spectre talk!" Chellick yelled at Dianne, and she stood her ground, but stopped shouting. Her chin tilted up as she stared down the General, preparing her body for any sort of quick movements or backlashes. She didn't fail to continue to grow angrier and angrier at the situation. At any moment, she was prepared to dive bomb out of the office - the door was unlocked again. Her eyes flickered to the doorway. Chellick seemed to notice this, and pressed the same button he did earlier. The door locked and Dianne's shoulder's slumped. She started to shake again. Dianne looked over at Alenko.

"Then speak." She breathed.

Alenko looked over at Chellick, whom nodded. He then took a few steps forward and placed his hands on Dianne's shoulders. Alenko stooped a bit so the two were eye to eye. Dianne was quivering beneath his strong grip. "Officer Sharpe, are you calm? This is...practically startling news." Alenko asked. Dianne took a few deep breaths, then nodded. Her heart was thudding like a jackhammer in her chest.

"Officer," General Alenko said, "I trust your judgement because...because you're Shepard's sister."

* * *

a/n:

before i get yelled at for making the OC shepard's sister, which isn't canon or explained at all, or even an idea that seems liable...WAIT!


	4. IV

Her body sagged, eyes once lively and scared sort of...faded to darkness. Dianne would have fallen to the ground if Alenko hadn't had his hands there; anchoring her into the air. Her head flopped backward, and she looked at the General lamely.

"Sister...?" She whispered. General Alenko nodded slowly. "How could Commander Shepard...be my sister? We don't even have the same last name..."

Kaidan shook his head. "That doesn't mean anything. What that means is your mother either gave you up for adoption... or you were taken from your family."

Dianne blinked slowly. None of this made sense to her, and she was just running on the tiniest bit of neuron activity. Her sluggish thoughts made all the processing of this harder to absorb. "What proof do you have?"

Kaidan carefully released Dianne, and she was able to stand on her own. He brought up his omni-tool and several screens shot up. " I did some digging a few weeks ago on potential DNA samples that might have been Shepard's. Couple of times your DNA popped it, but it was only a miscalculation. That got me curious, so I compared the two and found that both of your DNA is nearly the same, therefore meaning either sisterhood or a clone," Alenko tapped a few keys and the pictures of the DNA showed up. The comparisons were made via the program and it was evident how eerily similar the two were. Dianne was stunned. He looked at Dianne, giving a bashful shrug. "Not my words, anyway."

Chellick cleared his throat, coming from behind the desk to join Kaidan's side. "General Alenko came to me a few weeks ago asking about you. I told him that your record showed no signs of adoption, or any sort of way of being related to the Commander. But when the evidence of the DNA was shown...I had to go along with his idea."

"A friend of mine actually came up with the idea...the idea that finding the source of the similar DNA, and then using that to track down traces of Shepard - as more than often you pop up for her, or she for you - to limit the time wasted finding her." General Alenko said. Dianne was silent. It was still difficult for her to process all of the information. Alenko and Chellick were disquieted by the silence from Dianne. Kaidan put out a hand to touch Dianne's shoulder, and she twitched under his grip, slipping under his grip and escaping.

Dianne looked away, instead heading to a large window that overlooked the wing of the Citadel. She stared out, avoiding contact with the others. Tears prickled the corner of her eyes, and she tried to blink them away. I_ can't handle all of this...information. For one, they call me Shepard's sister, and for two, they expect me to drop my life and my work to go find her? Why me!?_

Dianne bowed her head, holding herself as she thought of the future. She did have a...boring life. In her small apartment she had her FENRIS mech modeled as a dog, whom she named Sophie. She didn't really have a boyfriend, or a husband...or friends really. Would anyone really care if she left? Miranda was her only friend, really, but she lived out on Illium and only made contact monthly. Miranda also had said that Dianne had plenty of friends, and had given her such people's means of communication. But they...never made contact with her either. It was just...silence and loneliness. Dianne wanted to cry, again, because of how lonely and without people she really was. Maybe this would be beneficial? If she died, who would care?

She whirled around, wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand and straightening herself. Chellick and Alenko stared, silent. The General looked a bit awkward and Chellick as well. Dianne pouted and headed toward the two, giving herself a whole new state of mind.

"Fine," she said, "I'll do it. I'll help you. I'll track down my sister."

Alenko bobbed his head, looking over at the turian. "Great! Executor...if you wouldn't mind?" Chellick nodded and left the office. Dianne bit her bottom lip as she watched Chellick leave. It seemed the Spectre trusted her, but that never meant that Dianne trusted him.

"How does this work, then?" Dianne asked, trying to be calm - but her heart was beating quickly. "Do you just take my blood and hook it to some system, then hot and cold it to the Commander, or...?"

Kaidan shook his head, and gestured for her arm. Dianne slowly gave it to him, hesitant in his intentions. Kaidan pushed her sleeve up, exposing her bare arm. Her reached for a small gadget attached to his hip. Kaidan readied the gadget, pressing a button and exposing thin needle. Dianne took a sharp intake of breath. Kaidan looked her in the eye. "It's alright. This will hook you up to a system that we will - as you put it - use a hot and cold method to track down Shepard. We'll check out the hot-spots for Shepard activity and connect you to them, seeing if any of her prints are majorly placed anywhere."

Dianne blinked.

Kaidan sighed. "You know, you're a lot like Shepard." He carefully inserted the needle into Dianne's vein. She sucked in a breath, wincing a bit. He watched her as he did it, checking that she was alright.

Dianne blinked again, relaxing after the needle. "How?"

"Well, if I spoke like this before to her, she'd call me technical or something. I'd sound too out of character for her and she'd probably tease me for it. I'd tell her, 'it's not me, Shepard, it's too much time with Liara'." Kaidan gave a hesitant laugh and pushed down on a button, sending bright colors into Dianne's bloodstream. She gave a shout at the sight, but Kaidan steadied her.

"Be calm! It's just the system. It won't hurt you, I swear." Alenko laughed to diffuse the tension, but Dianne was still and silent. Once all the colors were up her arm, and gone from sight, Kaidan pulled the needle out. He slapped a metal slab on her arm and it beeped to life. Dianne stared, turning her arm around as she studied it.

"She also hated needles too." Kaidan added.

Dianne gave a small smile as she rubbed her arm. Kaidan smiled too, which quickly dissolved into a straight face. _Too informal, shit._ Dianne widened her eyes as she cleared her throat. Kaidan brought up his omni-tool and set up a presentation on it. The presentation ran through, and the crucial evidence that Dianne extracted was such:

1) Shepard has been seen in several spots in the Traverse; especially Omega, Earth; especially near London and Vancouver, Thessia and Palaven; to help with rebuilding as the documents suggest, and Illium.

2) Several vids were captured of Shepard. Some didn't look like Shepard, but others were definitely her, from intense analyzing and zooming. The ones captured of her showed her in a dark cloak, or dark armor. N7 armor definitely.

3) Several key people in Shepard's life are willing to help with the investigation. Witnesses are also identified and willing to speak.

4) If the rumors are false, let them be exterminated. If true, let them be justly brought to the public. If rumors are false, let the originators be annihilated to prevent such rumors to circulate more.

And finally, the most spine-tingling to Dianne:

**5) Use any means necessary.**


	5. V

General Alenko told Dianne she had a day to pack up and be ready to leave. How long she'd be gone, he didn't know. All he did know was that she'd better sever any ties with people in case they'd be targeted by potential enemies. Dianne said she would, even though she had no friends, and promptly after being given a gun by Chellick, returned home.

Dianne trudged to her apartment, slipped the key card in the door and let it slip open. She entered and locked it behind her, quite glad to be home. The day was shorter than most, but it felt like it had lasted a century. Dianne clicked her tongue, and before she knew it, a docile FENRIS mech came blundering down the hall. It barreled into Dianne, who sucked in her breath as she fell to the ground. The fur on the mech was stuck on -what felt like a century ago- by Dianne. When she was younger, she remembered looking through old books at families who had dogs. Inspired by such recently, she purchased some fur and stuck it on her mech.

"How's my Sophie?" Dianne asked, patting the fur on the mech. Sophie's lights blinked blue once or twice, earning a faint smile from Dianne. She'd miss the mech. At least it was something to keep her apartment safe.

Dianne crawled to her feet and padded to her bedroom. She rustled through her storage and found a large bag, something she'd use to store some necessary clothes and things - as where they would be going would be in several spots throughout the galaxy. It was, and always has been, Dianne's dream to explore space. She remembered Miranda telling her that when she found Dianne, Dianne had reached for the stars. The fascination hadn't stopped there. In a small corner of her room, in what appeared to be a piggy bank, was a display of how many credits Dianne had saved over time. Much was in there...enough to spend on an excursion out into space.

Dianne grabbed the small bank and shoved it into her bag. She'd need the money later, no doubt.

She packed more clothes and such, then zipped up the bag and set it at her door. She went back onto her bed and flopped down on it, anxious, nervous and emotionally scarred from the days events. She hadn't asked for all of this...merely just to have a simply day at work and go about her day. Rather, she found out she was the sister to a legend, and that it was her blood that would help a Spectre find said legend.

Her eyes travelled around the room. She'd miss it. Would the ship that Alenko had be nice? Small? Poor? Rich? What kind of ship _did_ he have, anyway? Dianne mused upon the thought, just as her omni-tool started to ring. Dianne brought it up, and saw that it was Miranda. _Right on time_.

She pressed a few keys, one to start the call and the other to put it on speaker. "Hello? Miranda?"

"Dianne, how are you?" Miranda asked. Though she wasn't there, Dianne shrugged anyway.

"Fine. Things have been pretty busy lately: work and all."

"Really? What's been going on at work?" _Miranda...always wanting to know what's going on with my life_.

Dianne remembered what Chellick had said, "_I'm sending you the file. Read it here, and not anywhere else_." Did that detail telling anybody about it? _Well, obviously it does,_ Dianne thought, _but I trust Miranda. She wouldn't blab to anyone about this. She understands what top-secret means._

"Dianne?"

"Sorry, sorry. Well, it's a top-secret mission that I've been assigned on. Me and this Spectre. We have to..." Dianne bit her lip. Should she tell?

"...Have to what? You don't have to tell me Dianne, it's fine." Miranda laughed and Dianne squirmed on her bed.

"No, no, I plan on telling you anyway. Well...apparently, the Spectre-"

"What's their name?"

"He's an Alliance General. General Alenko," Miranda was silent. Dianne continued on, nonetheless. "Anyway, the General says that he's found evidence that Commander Shepard - hero of the galaxy - is _alive_!"

Miranda scoffed. "No way!"

Dianne smiled as she spoke, "Yes way! It's crazy, right? Anyway, Alenko says I'm 'the only one he can trust with this' and by now I'm freaked out, right? So I'm flipping out and he holds me still, then he goes ahead and tells me that..._I'm Shepard's sister_!"

Miranda didn't speak, a silence the same as when Dianne brought up the name of the Spectre. Dianne was a bit perturbed at that, but thought nothing of it. She continued on, "So, yeah, I'm the Commander's sister...and he tells me that I need to be with him because my blood and hers are nearly identical or something, so I'm sort of like a beacon to finding Shepard. It's so..."

"...unimaginable?" Miranda offered, her voice monotone and flat. Dianne made a noise of approval. "Yes!"

Miranda didn't say a word for some time. Dianne got worried, so she voiced her concern for Miranda's lack of approval. Usually, Miranda was always interested in Dianne's months - as that was when she often phoned - but this time, she seemed so uninterested. Dianne was...offended.

"Sorry Di, I'm just in the middle of something so I'm a little distracted. Er...I'm excited for you! Excited and scared. Uh...isn't tracking down a dead Spectre something of...imagination? Especially Commander Shepard. How are they supposed to use your blood, anyway? What's the reliability of it all? Why can't they just take a sample of your blood, and not the person?" Miranda continued with countless questions, testing the patience of Dianne. Miranda was being pessimistic, in her opinion, and it was only slightly pissing her off.

"Well, jeez, Miranda, if you weren't excited then you shouldn't have said you were."

Miranda sighed, "It's not that Dianne, it's just..."

"It's whatever. Nevermind. I have to go."

"Dianne, please, I'm sorry."

"No, it's fine. I have to go anyway. Big day tomorrow and everyday after until we find the Commander. I'll phone you often to update you."

Miranda sighed again. "Okay. I'm sorry Dianne, I didn't mean it that way. But thanks for updating me. I'll be happy to hear it. Talk to you later."

"Talk to you later." Dianne hung up, flopping her arm down on the bed again. She curled into a small ball, letting out several sighs and short grunts. She was upset at Miranda, obviously, but a bit weirded out by her behavior, as well. Something was up. Miranda had said she was busy, but being busy doesn't mean someone is a damper on exciting plans. Clearly the mission was something that made Miranda uncomfortable.

_I'll ask her about it later, or something_. Dianne rolled onto her stomach and lay there, unmoved. Tomorrow _would_ be a long day, so it wasn't as if she was lying to Miranda. She really did have to be ready for what might be a week, or more, of sailing around space just searching for Commander Shepard hot-spots.

Dianne rolled up her sleeve and sat up, looking at her arm. The small machine was blinking. It started to bleep. Quickly. Dianne gasped as she looked down, but just then, it stopped. She looked down at it to see it totally back to normal. The blinking was normal. On the screen she saw the words "**DRILL - SORRY, KAIDAN**" Kaidan? _Why, that has to be the General. Hm. Kaidan Alenko...WAIT A MINUTE_.

Within a few seconds, Dianne was up and out of bed. She ran out into the main room, nearly tripping over Sophie, and headed to her collection of datapad novels. A few years ago, a novel was published as a biography for the Commander. In it were the names of her companions, as well as people she met over her time as a Spectre. Dianne had read the book many times, intrigued as often as most people by the Commander's story. Dianne flipped to the end of the book and pawed through the names of the companions - those who had given the author consent to write about them. She remembered the name Kaidan Alenko in the book, but in the past hadn't thought of it. Now, she knew that she was dealing with the real thing.

Finally, she found his name. There. _Kaidan Alenko_. So he personally knew the Commander. Did it affect why he was so interested in the case and the evidence? She would ask him about it the next day, if she had the time to. For now, she decided she would get a head start on sleep.

* * *

_"What's your name?" _

_"I-I don't know."Every word hurt to speak. She shivered, despite the heavy comforter across her shoulders. She looked down, not wanting to be caught for the shame of not even knowing her own name._

_"My name is Miranda Lawson." The woman whispered, leaning down to the other woman's level. They met each other's eyes, and Miranda gave a faint smile. The woman looked away from Miranda, instead facing the window of the shuttle. _

_There was silence for a while, until Miranda started to speak again. "You don't know your name? Do you know what you were doing in the middle of the street?"_

_She shook her head, slowly and feeling shameful again. She didn't want to speak. It hurt._

_Miranda sighed, leaning on the palm of her hand. "You're going to have to speak to me if we want to figure out who you are." The woman looked up at Miranda. She pointed to her throat and made a low moan. Miranda narrowed her eyes, concentrating. She understood then and there, that speaking was hard for the Jane Doe. Miranda shuffled around the shuttle seats, looking for the notepad and paper she had scavenged some time ago. While most things were tech, there wasn't ever a lack of paper or supplies for the classic way of documents._

_She handed the paper and pen to the Jane Doe, who blinked at the objects. She knew how to write...right? _

_"You can write, can't you Jane?" Miranda asked. The girl looked up in alarm._

_"J-Jane? My...na-ame?" She asked. Miranda shook her head._

_"It's just a term for someone who doesn't have an identity. I'll call you Jane for now, alright? Until we know your real name," Miranda smiled at her and gestured to the writing. "Just...write what you remember, OK? We'll go from there."_

_Jane looked down at the pen and paper, her hand quivering. What did she remember? _

_Quickly, she scribbled down the last memory she had, and then led up to being discovered by Miranda. Miranda took the paper when Jane was done and looked at it, nodding vigorously when she was finished._

_"Good. Well, not good that you have no memory, but that means that all of your memories are somewhere in your head and will stay hidden until we bring them to the surface. When we get back to the lab, we'll have to the scientists take your blood sample and match it up with someone, alright? Do you understand?" Miranda explained. Jane nodded, slowly. She shivered again, drawing the comforter closer to her body. Miranda watched the woman with sympathetic eyes._

_"We've got a long road ahead, Jane Doe." Miranda gave a snort, leaning back on the seat. Jane looked up at Miranda and gave a faltering smile. _


End file.
